Friday, October 23, 2009

Has Stephanie Meyer read this?

I do not recall seeing "Please read Indian Country Etiquette" on the Quileute Nation website last time I was on there...  Clicking on the link (located bottom right of the main page) will take you to a statement, that reads in part:

Traditionally, our people are hospitable and generous in nature. However, spiritual teachings, sacred ceremonies and burial grounds, are not openly shared with the public.

We are proud of our teachings, and our heritage. They have been passed to us by our ancestors, and represent thousands of years of our individual histories. Your patience and understanding of our traditions and cultures is appreciated.

I wonder if it is in response to crowds of Twilight fans showing up there? Meyer's books have a lot of material in them that may be interpreted by her readers as Quileute. She does, of course, present it that way. But is it? What did she use as a source? As the statement above indicates, this information is not shared with the public...

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If you want to read more on the ways that the Quileute's are portrayed in the series, look over to the right side of this page. Scroll up or down till you see the section labeled TWILIGHT SAGA. There you'll see several links to posts about the series.

6 comments:

Shayana said...

2 things:
1) Her name is Stephenie, not Stephanie.
2) With regards to, "However, spiritual teachings, sacred ceremonies and burial grounds, are not openly shared with the public." This may be a response to the crowds, but Stephenie never has a sacred ceremony or burial ground scene in her books. The one episode of "teachings" has to do with the wolf pack and those who know of it, exclusively. Even other members of the tribe who aren't aware of the wolf history aren't there. Only those who know about the boys and their transformations are allowed. Stephenie never published a scene where Bella was watching a tribal ceremony. They were sacred, and she did not go there.

Rob said...

Meyer presents a long passage of spiritual "teachings"--i.e., her phony version of the Quileute Nation's cultural history and beliefs. Her characters may not have shared these teachings with anyone outside the tribe, but she shared them with tens of millions of outsiders.

Sounds to me like the tribe is gently chastising Meyer (and her followers). Meyer did what you've warned us against many times: (mis)appropriating Native legends.

jpm said...

But Shayana, Meyer may not have actually had a character watch a tribal ceremony, but she has "gone there" (into the realm of pasting an idea that is convenient for her on to some Quileute ideas) with her (mis)representation of the role of wolves in Quileute cosmology. Having done that, in my opinion, she is not absolved by making "other members of the pack who aren't aware of the wolf history" absent from the episode of "teachings" you mention. Their absence doesn't mean that she's not messing with things in a way that is likely to have an impact on what (at least some) readers think they know about Quileutes.

John ‘Iich’ah Dine’é said...

Are you as upset about Anne Rice's (mis)appropriation of European and Slavic vampire legends? Because they do not, in any way, represent traditional legends, stories, mythology, et cetera about vampires. Is it 'poetic license?'

Is Anne Rice now a racist because she (mis)appropriated the mythology and presents her 'phony version' of European cultural history and beliefs?

Stephenie Meyers (poorly written) books are FANTASY. Is it fair to say that people will believe in her depiction of vampires and werewolves with a grain of salt (or a barrel)? Likely so with regards to her (mis)appropriated Native legends?

UneFemmePlusCourageuse said...

John--Since when does Ann Rice or Slavic legends have anything to do with this post? People are allowed, on their own blogs, to discuss something that they found worthy of discussion without dissecting every single tangential issue. And anyone who has ever read Twilight is aware that her books are fantasy. That doesn't mean that she doesn't bear some responsibility for being factual when discussing people who actually do exist.

Jen said...

WOW. The irony of the last post made me chuckle. Touche John ‘Iich’ah Dine’é!